United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and Blues manager Kevin Keegan, together with their players, have rallied to boost a £400,000 fighting fund set up to keep Bury in existence.

Already over £100,000 has been raised thanks to a bumper gate for the midweek derby against Oldham and the phenomenal interest in the sponsor-a-seat campaign at Gigg Lane.

The Neville brothers Phil and Gary, who were born in Bury, have "bought" seats, as have the family of England skipper David Beckham, managers Keegan and Ferguson, and celebrities Lisa Riley and Bernard Manning.

Sir Alex said: "We have a great relationship with Bury and it is fundamental to football that the smaller clubs, including Bury which is one of the oldest in England, should keep going.

"We play our reserve matches at Gigg Lane and I think it's a disgrace that Jill Neville, who is Secretary at Bury, should serve up those lovely pasties!

"Seriously, there are a lot of clubs teetering on the brink and I'm pleased I can do something to help. Hopefully Bury will survive because they are a great part of football here in Greater Manchester. They have produced some great players over the years."

Meanwhile, Kevin Keegan and his Manchester City players have put their names to 250 seats at Gigg Lane in a bid to help save the Shakers.

The Blues boss, who vehemently opposed the recent scheme to create a Phoenix League catering for the richer sides, began his own glittering career down the league ladder at Scunthorpe and is a passionate believer that smaller clubs are the lifeblood of the English game.

Keegan's call

He urged more of the wealthy sides to help City's neighbours in any way they could.

"Myself and the players are putting in £2,500 and putting our names on 250 seats at Gigg Lane. That is what the players and the staff wanted to do. There was no hesitation," said the Blues boss before greeting a contingent of Bury fans at City's Carrington training centre.

"I am afraid this kind of problem may be a continuing thing in football but if we cannot be seen to help clubs, then who will? "The lads agreed that the money came straight out of their fund. I think there are other big clubs who could help Bury as well.

"At the end of the day Bury are going to have to help themselves but we should do something to help them, they are just down the road. We will see if we cannot help them raise more money playing a game there sometime in the near future."

Co-chairman Fred Mason has been heartened by the amazing response to the Save the Shakers Appeal, backed by the Manchester Evening News.

Donations have been sent from all over the world including Canada, Thailand, New Zealand, Hawaii, Australia and Cyprus.

Mr Mason said: "We are still in intensive care but I am becoming more and more confident that the club will be saved. We need another big gate against Notts County."

Mr Mason hailed both City and United for their generosity. Supporters nationwide, particularly those backing clubs who have faced similar problems such as Brighton, have been sending cheques or messages of support to the die-hard Shakers supporters.

One Bury fan, James Bentley, a 21-year-old A level student, said: "I think it's fantastic how football supporters everywhere are helping us. It is amazing that these people such as Kevin Keegan and Sir Alex Ferguson have given their backing."

The Second Division club's problems stem from when majority shareholder Hugh Eaves lost £20 million pounds of other peoples' money on the London stock exchange.

His creditors have been looking to get the money back whilst because of legal constraints the Shakers have been unable to bring in investment and have a £1 million pound mortgage outstanding.

Three groups are reputed to be looking to take over the crisis club which is in receivership.

The club have been further boosted by the news they more than halfway to their target of selling off their 12,000 seats, according to former commerical director Neville Neville.

"The response from the fans has been unbelievable," says Neville, whose suggestion to offer the seats for sponsorship has gone down a storm.

"The phone lines have never stopped ringing and the e-mails have been pouring in. But we've still got seats available and after that we'll start to sell the bricks as well. Anything to make sure we reach our target."